Good article on alcoholism on the front page of the Colorado Springs Gazette. They say that everyone in the U.S. will spend around $620 a year for the consequences of hardcore boozers. Hell, I'll spend more than that just at the Knob Hill Lounge, and beer is super cheap there.
Anywho, I don't know that alcoholism is any worse in the Springs than anywhere else I've lived, but it's definitely more visible here. Especially now that I work around parolees, most of whom are alcoholics on top of other drugs, I often wonder what pushes someone over the edge. I drink a ton, but I never not been able to function in the real world. In fact, despite getting shitty drunk last night and not remembering a chunk of the evening, I still got up at 5:30AM for a fifteen mile trail run. I'll probably get drunk again tonight, yet I'm sure I won't miss work tomorrow. I would love to know why I'm able to do this yet someone else wouldn't be able to get over that hump and return to the bottle despite knowing that it's ruining their life.
There were some interesting quotes in the story. The article follows "David," a heavy boozer who was in the cycle of detox, rehab, and relapse. One of David's nuggets of wisdom: "It's good to be sober and go to church and all that stuff. But it's also good to be drunk, and pick up a chick and go to a hotel. There's two sides to the coin." This coming from a guy who would drink a pint of vodka before he got out of bed in the morning.
Some good stats from the article too.
-Colorado ranks 5th in per capita consumption of alcohol. Only Alaska, Delaware, Nevada, and Wisconsin are higher. This was before I moved here though.
-Colorado Springs police department made 2,428 DUI arrests in 2005. 550 were repeat offenders (22.6% of the total).
-Colorado spends six cents out of every $100 spent on substance abuse on prevention, treatment, and research. The other $99.94 goes to mop up the messes that drunkards leave behind.
-There are 744 liquor licenses in Colorado Springs. 118 are for liquor stores. 441 are for bars/restaurants.
The full article can be read here.
4 comments:
Too much!
do the words functioning alcoholic mean anything to you? This was way too serious.
It's in your genes. I think most of our family could be considered functioning alcoholics.
Hey Brownie, do you have pics from the Kimchi hash? Lemme see 'em flamer! Also, do you want a TBM shirt?
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